Maybe she’s born with it. Maybe it’s Lancôme, Guerlain, and soap of Aleppo.
American women are often caricatured abroad as being overdressed, over made-up, and over the top in all manners of style. The French are viewed as precisely the opposite, masters of subtlety and allure. The difference between American and French grooming rituals can be found most blatantly in our style icons. Take Kim Kardashian versus Catherine Deneuve, just for example. Notice the difference?
So, while we’re busy trying (and probably failing) to learn contouring and how to wear six-inch stilettos, what are our ladies on the other side of the Atlantic doing to maintain their casual elegance? Harper’s BAZAAR went to Paris to ask French women about their makeup routines, and a common theme seems to pervade their answers. That common theme is moisturizer, moisturizer, and somehow more moisturizer. A little bit of mascara on top of that, and you are on your way to Parisian elegance. So perhaps the next time you’re looking at that 90-panel eyeshadow palette, you might want to invest instead in a tub of Clé de Peau.
